Reuters
Published: Wednesday, October 24, 2007
BMW aims to increase its capacity in China significantly and is seeking a second production site there, supervisory board member Werner Neugebauer told Auto Motor und Sport magazine in an article yesterday. There is still no decision, a company spokesman said. Munich-based BMW currently has a joint venture with Brilliance 1114.HK in China. "In the past year, BMW built 31,000 cars in China. This year it should be around 44,000," Mr. Neugebauer, who is also head of the IG Metall trade union in Bavaria, said in the article. "BMW needs to gain in China and also in India so as not to fall behind Audi." Audi sold 82,000 cars in China last year. In mid-March, BMW prod uction boss Frank-Peter Arndt saidBMW's plans to grow in China might force it to build new capacity.